Hotel Management Blog

Present and Position your hotel with Pictures

Ever wondered why OTA websites list multiple pictures for each hotel? What is the most effective way to up sell a guest to a higher room category or more expensive package? We will talk about how we better position and convert lookers into bookers with images on hotel websites.

Having looked at dozens and dozens of websites over the last months, I could not have helped noticing the extensive prose hotelier’s use on their hotel websites. Long sentences are popular in our industry. We seem to need complex sentence to describe our offer.

Of course it is important to use a good amount of content with sufficient keywords for SEO purposes. The question is, do we need to use phrases, for which, if reading them our loud, one would need to at least inhale twice, to be able to get to the end, without running out of breath. Keyword stuffing is also not a recommendable SEO strategy by the way.

I think this hotel marketing style could use a bit of a makeover. How about using short sentences? Phrases which are easy to read would probably be preferred by potential guests. Bullet style also is helpful. It allows being glanced over quickly. Bullet points are very effective for listing facilities, amenities, services or features.

I am sure you are familiar with the old Chinese proverb ‘one picture is worth ten thousand words’. This we should consider when planning our hotel website design. The image of a heart, a bed covered in rose pedals or city lights by night will be much more effective in promoting a romantic package. A bit of creativity here will help you set your hotel apart from the competition.

I am still being amazed every day by hotel websites that list their rate offer by merely displaying the name of a room type in combination with a rate name type and price. I miss images on many sites. It would help travelers to picture or imagine the experience of a stay at your hotel.

Moreover when the more information button is clicked, only one image is displayed, and often of poor quality. How about showing 5 to 10 pictures of a hotel room? Don’t forget to add experience oriented images. For instance a picture of a family for the family room, and image of someone working on his laptop in the bar or lounge with the corporate rate.

We should find more ways to setting ourselves apart from the competition. Pictures for sure are the most effective method. Buy some good quality pictures of your destination and its attractions and festivities from your local tourist board. It will help promote the intangible experience which is so hard to describe without overdoing it.